CHRISTMAS LIVING ROOM MAKEOVER 2025 ¦ Thrifted + New Affordable Cozy Holiday Decor

This year's Christmas living room might be my favorite look I've ever done. Most of it is thrifted, of course, mixed with a few DIYs and some fun splurges. And if you love budget-friendly high-end decor, you are in the right place. So without further ado, let's jump in and start decorating. Okay, so here's what we're starting with. We just painted the living room and the fireplace and finally got the new mantle installed, which I've been so, so excited about, especially for Christmas. The theme I'm going for this year is that cozy, moody look and I always like to set the tone with themed TV art for inspiration. So, starting off here with the mantle. Now, I've seen lots of great ways to hang garland with command hooks, but since we have this gorgeous new wood beam, I didn't want to risk damaging the finish. Instead, I'm using three of these two-in-one garland and stocking hooks from Amazon, which are perfect for this kind of surface. I'll link them below along with anything else I can from today's decor. I wanted to go big on the fireplace this year, so I'm layering in two pre-lit garlands for a fuller look. I've seen tons of decorators do beautiful asymmetrical designs, so I wanted to experiment with that. Now, it might be kind of hard to see here, but I'm actually using both levels on the hooks so I can layer the garlands on top of each other and have them blend over the top of the mantle. Once everything is fluffed out, it really looks like one big, full garland. And if you want an even fuller look, the layering options are endless. Here, I'm using a mix of some of my extra wedding stems, which you can also get at the dollar store, and some other branches from my Christmas stash. I'm also giving these thrifted berry stems a darker coat in this deep reddy brown, which I think adds the perfect pop of color mixed in with some of my existing berries. These little guys held quite nicely on their own, but if you're having trouble, you can always use a bit of wire for a more secure hold. As the final touch, I'm adding in this double bow that I made the day before. I created two separate bows using different ribbons, wired them together, and left enough wire at the back so I could easily secure everything to the garland. Now the fireplace is really starting to come to life. Those deep, rich colors really make the garland pop, and I think the theme is starting to take shape. To balance out the left side, I'm hanging our new cable knit stockings on the first level of the hooks. I decided to go with neutral tones because they'll work with pretty much any theme. To dress them up a little, I'm adding these vintage style bells that originally came in a pack of 20 and tying contrasting colored bows on each one. Now that everything is hung in place, I'm moving to the top of the mantle. I'm layering in my gold frame mirror, which was one of my first thrift flips on this channel, along with my smaller vintage mirror, also a lucky thrift find. One of my favorite little hacks is wrapping things like mirrors, wall art, or even coffee table books as presents. It's such an easy trick, but really helps create a festive vibe in your space. Next, I'm featuring some of the vintage bells I painted in my last video. A lot of you actually said they were your favorite flips, so I'll have that video linked down below in case you missed it. And finally, I've styled my favorite thrifted brass candle holders to help balance out the height and add a cozy layered look. Speaking of balance, the whole fireplace was feeling a little top heavy, so I like to bring in strong anchor pieces to frame the bottom. This Christmas light post was a really popular flip for my last video, and I have it propped on a small stool to give it a bit more height and visual weight. On the right, I brought in my thrifted wicker basket filled with firewood. One thing I also love doing here is mixing in other organic pieces. Things like driftwood or other weathered accents are great for adding a bit of extra texture and visual interest. Now that the fireplace is looking cozy and festive, let's shift our attention over to the tree. I normally love placing a tree in front of a big window, but with our two couches, the room feels way too tight if I rearrange everything, so the corner is the best compromise. One little trick I always use to give a tree more height and presence without buying a bigger one is simply elevating it. Here, I'm just using a cardboard box underneath, and don't worry, once the tree skirt is on, you'd never know. This was actually my husband's first Christmas tree. It's nothing fancy, definitely a budget find, but it's held up great over the years and still looks magical with all the decorations. This year, I picked up this really pretty traditional plaid tablecloth at the thrift store for just $4.50, and I'm just wrapping it around the base as my tree skirt. The great thing is that it's already round, so it required very little adjusting, but really, anything works. A knit blanket, a larger piece of fabric, or even a basket, as long as your tree stand fits inside. Now, I've seen so many gorgeous trees with ribbon added creating this really pretty woven look, and I wanted to try it this year. Michael's had a big buy-to-get-to-free sale, so I grabbed this gorgeous burgundy wired ribbon, which is great for this since it holds its shape. I cut it into roughly three foot sections, made a small loop at the top, and gave it a twist and secured it with wire. Then, I just tucked the loop deep into the tree and created these bigger billows going in different directions. To secure them, you can wrap the end of the branch around the end of the billow if you have a wired tree, or you can just use wire otherwise. I used about 10 pieces in total and also mixed in this other Michael's ribbon for variation. I'll link some tutorials below because this was kind of tricky to capture on camera. Next, I'm layering in some bows. I took these off some thrifted ornaments and I'm also adding these red velvet ones that came in a bulk pack on Amazon, which were super affordable. As for the rest of the tree, I'm just mixing and matching with more traditional and deep colors and using lots of our existing ornaments as well as some new thrifted ones. I always check the thrift stores first because you can find full sets for just a few dollars, which I personally think is the best way to build your collection without spending a ton each year. Tree topper bows can get pretty pricey, so making one yourself is a much better deal. I'll link the tutorial I followed below for more detail, but I basically just made eight loops in different directions and secured them all together with the wire. Now, if you follow the tutorial correctly, you're supposed to do this at the end, but I kind of just added wire after each couple of loops because I personally found it hard to keep everything together otherwise. Then I added one big loop underneath and trimmed the ends. I'm loving our Christmas tree this year. I think it has the perfect mix of all those rich colors and the burgundy ribbon really ties everything together for a cozy and elegant holiday feel. Shifting my focus now to the coffee table. I always love using trays to ground objects together and my goal here was to create a vignette that would be the main focal point. I found this tray at HomeSense a while ago and I'm adding in the same extra Christmas branches I used on the mantle. This plaid cloth came in a set of five for just $2.50 at the thrift store, and of course I had to feature the glass Christmas trees. A lot of you said they were your favorite DIY from my last video and I think they look perfect here. And then to add a more natural touch, I'm finishing the vignette with some pine cones in this thrifted bowl I've had since forever. Now, moving over, I was so excited about this thrift find. These silver candle holders were only $3 each and I mean how stunning are they? The candles were thrifted too and I'm dressing them up similar to my stockings with a little contrasting ribbon. To finish off the section, I'm draping the bell garland I DIY'd over the books for an effortless festive look. For the third grouping, I'm bringing in more thrifted books. As you can see, I had tons of luck this year finding themed ones and just like with the mirror, I'm wrapping the top book like a little present and featuring my DIY dough bowl candle on top. And as a reminder, I'll link my last video below where you can get the full DIY steps if you're interested. Lastly, I'm mixing in a few things I keep out all year round like my brass anchors and some other thrifted pieces I've collected over time. I am obsessed with how this came together. I know having this much on a coffee table isn't to everyone's taste, but these pieces bring me so much joy and that's what Christmas is all about, right? Okay, so shifting over to this little corner, it normally doesn't get much love so we're gonna make it feel extra cozy this year. I moved my blanket ladder over which was usually where the tree is and then on it, I paired my thrifted white knit blanket along with another one I pulled from my staging stash. These bells originally came on a different string, but last year I swapped it out for jute which is more my style. This corner is already starting to feel so much warmer. Over on the side table, I have two thrifted books and this one here I couldn't resist, especially with Finding Noelle on the spine. I'm also bringing in a couple more of my painted vintage bells and then lastly adding my oval glass frame which was another DIY. Now the wall needs some attention, so first I'm hanging the holiday wreath I made which is actually a West Elm do. And I decided to add this brown bow I made, but let me know what you guys think. Do you prefer with or without the bow? Next I'm doing one of my favorite tricks for quick holiday art and that's just adding in any holiday themed wrapping paper inside the frame. I wanted to sneak in a bit of that Ralph Lauren look so I went with this really pretty tartan paper which came in a pack of three along with two other patterns. Now I'm only going to hang one of them in this corner because I have another place in mind for the green one which you'll see a bit later. And that is it for this corner. I think it's the perfect blend of cozy and warm but without looking too overcrowded. And speaking of cozy, we're moving over to the couch now. I'm keeping it simple here with three pillows I like to leave out all year round. I love this combination because the height variation works really well and the warm browns mix with the muted plaid tie in really nicely with the look this year. This quilt I'm using as a throw is actually reversible which I love. I thrifted it back in the fall for just $10, such a good deal, and it looks really similar to one in this quilt set for $242. Now normally the cats claim this corner but I couldn't resist setting up this temporary little moment. Everything here is thrifted including another one of the cloths from the set of five, minus the consumables of course. And some of you might remember this little stool I thrifted back in the summer. I was planning to reupholster it but after putting it out this year, I don't know, I'm second guessing myself. Let me know what you think. Should I keep it as is or give it a refresh? And over here I was so excited to find this gorgeous olive knit blanket the other week. It was $14 so definitely more of a thrift splurge for me but the weight and texture are really solid and when you open it up it's actually big enough to cover a queen bed. This year I also treated myself to this beautiful pillow. It was $24 at HomeSense and I don't usually go for themed pillows because I love versatility but the deep forest green with gold detailing was too hard to pass up. I just love it here and I'll probably keep it out all winter. And then on the other side of the couch I'm keeping things simple again with a few more of my year-round pillows. Now behind the couch I'm turning my attention to our bay window. Since our tree is in the other corner this year, I still wanted this area to feel festive, especially when you're looking in from the outside. I dressed up these thrifted hurricane candles in my last video and I'm just adding little bows to them so they stand out a little bit more. And this is a special piece of driftwood from the beach we got married at in Nova Scotia. My brother actually found it the night before our wedding and we had it sitting right in front of our head table. I love decorating with sentimental pieces like this because they add such a unique and personal touch to a space. And lastly I'm adding my cordless fairy lights for an extra glow at night. It's no Christmas tree but I think the window still feels really warm and festive. Alright we're about two-thirds of the way through and normally I don't feature this area because the cabinet isn't the most flattering in my opinion. Although it's not my favorite, it does have a ton of storage so functionally it's been serving us well. Just so happened to find this perfect runner at the thrift store the other week for just three dollars. It's originally from Pier 1 and I love the frilled detailing and how perfectly it fits this spot. This antique crock was another lucky find for only eight dollars, which is wild because they usually go for well over a hundred. And yes controversial or not, I always put out my flock tree. It was a twelve dollar thrift find and usually I put it in this other planter to hide the tacky bottom but we're gonna upgrade because it fits perfectly inside this crock. And to decorate it I'm just using another strand of those fairy lights and again doing that same ribbon technique from earlier. And lastly I'm stuffing a few thrifted pine cones in and topping it off with another one of the bells I painted. Here in the center I'm bringing back this gorgeous thrifted tray some of you might remember from my fall decorating. To make it festive I'm adding more of those branches. I still have so many of them and this little glass tree I thought was so adorable and he was a thrift find along with these solid metal pine cones which are another new addition this year. And to finish off the tray I'm sprinkling in some more of those vintage bells to tie in with the stockings. And lastly to cozy it up a bit I layered in some thrifted books along with other pieces that felt warm and festive. We just have a few more little things to add. I thrifted these three pictures the other week and gave the frames a quick little makeover using the same chippy paint technique from my last video with the wax and tape. This time I decided to experiment with darker colors for a more subtle look. I also left out the plastic fronts and love how much more vintage they look. They also fill in the space perfectly. And of course presents under the tree. This basket was a four dollar garage sale find and it's perfect for holding a few of our gifts. I think adding little holders like baskets or even fabric sacks under the tree is such an easy way to make everything feel extra cozy and intentional. Just adding in the last details I'm hanging that other tartan picture to the left of the tree and then just putting our other usual items back in their spots. And that completes this year's living room. I think the mix of the rich colors mixed with the little pops of plaid really bring this space together for a